How did King Viserys get leprosy in House of the Dragon? Viserys Targaryen actor Paddy Considine previously mentioned that his character's disease had similar symptoms, but was it the inspiration behind the King's death? Find out here.
Explaining King Viserys's Disease in House of the Dragon: Was It Leprosy?
Since the premiere of House of the Dragon season 1, King Viserys Targaryen has been showing significant signs of physical deterioration. At first, it was a back wound that refused to heal. Soon enough, by episode 3, the King lost 2 fingers.
"He's actually suffering from a form of leprosy," the King Viserys actor Paddy Considine previously said, suggesting that the character's disease may have taken inspiration from our world.
Considine added, "His body is deteriorating, his bones are deteriorating. He is not actually old. He's just unfortunately got this thing that's taken over his body."
However, House of the Dragon showrunners have yet to address this.
The most that fans surmised is that the "sweet rot" may be the fictionalized term for leprosy in Westeros.
That is until another debunked that if King Viserys suffered from "sweet rot", which was described as a common sickness in Westeros, the maesters "would have known what the illness was."
Let's go back in time to the first season and recount the symptoms Viserys suffered from that do signify its similarities with leprosy.
READ MORE: Why Didn't Rhaenys Targaryen Say 'Dracarys' To Meleys in House of the Dragon Season 2?
Similar Symptoms Viserys Had That Comes With Leprosy, Too
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leprosy (also known as Hansen's Disease) is a slow-growing bacteria that is usually spread from one person to another through coughing and sneezing.
One fan theorized that Viserys may have contracted the bacteria from the Iron Throne while he had cuts in his hand.
This doesn't mean that leprosy is highly infectious, though, especially since Alicent, King Viserys' wife, didn't seem to have caught the disease herself. So, it is not also hereditary.
Other symptoms include impacting the nerves, eyes, and nose, specifically, all of which have been signs on King Viserys' end, depicted more extremely in House of the Dragon season 1.
While the actual disease in the real world includes painful swelling, numbness, paralysis, and possible blindness, King Viserys suffered at greater lengths by losing his right eye and a hole in his cheek — which are not exactly real-life portrayals of the effects of leprosy.
However, the show did get another thing right: if leprosy was left untreated, then the sufferer deals with crippled hands and feet, shortening of toes and fingers, and nose disfigurement, all of which King Viserys had experienced in the series.
READ NEXT: House of the Dragon S2: What Does Young Rhaenyra Say to Daemon in High Valyrian?
House of the Dragon season 2 episode 5 airs on HBO and Max on July 14, 2024.
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